We’ve noticed a couple of things while driving around Milwaukee. The first is that there are a lot of smokestacks. We don’t really have those in Houston so they really stand out. The second is that there are steeples everywhere. Literally one every couple of blocks. There were so many that we looked up how many churches there are in Milwaukee and found there are over 1000. I guess a high percentage are old and have pretty traditional design, including bell towers and steeples. All of this is probably more visible because there aren’t a lot of tall buildings in the city.
Other fun facts:
The QWERTY typewriter was invented in Milwaukee.
The Socialist party defined Milwaukee from 1910 through 1960.
Milwaukee has had only 4 mayors since 1960, one of whom only served 3 months.
Milwaukee is often called “Cream City” due to the cream colored bricks used by builders throughout the middle and late 19th century. The come from local clay deposits with high amounts of dolomite (a type of limestone).
The Harley-Davidson was invented here in 1901.
The worlds largest dinosaur head is located at the Milwaukee Public Museum.
Both Les Paul and Liberace are from Milwaukee.
Milwaukee has the country’s oldest bowling alley. It’s a two lane alley which still uses human pin setters.